D2.3 Legacy sensor interface including software library and user interface. Deliverable report of project H2020 MONOCLE (grant 776480)

A legacy sensor interface was created to make existing sensors compatible with the MONOCLE backend and metadata requirements. Many existing sensors do not have the functionality to identify themselves or provide unique observation identifiers and metadata on data ownership and licensing. Furthermore, legacy sensors will often not be able to connect to internet servers in real time due to lacking connectivity options. The MONOCLE legacy software interface, or SOS-box in short, provides:

• Ethernet connectivity for local or remote monitoring
• A WiFi interface for configuration by operators and local monitoring
• Data models to map known sensor outputs to structured data
• Local storage in a database (i.e. data logging functionality)
• Data interoperability through the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Sensor Observation Service (SOS) standard, allowing data to be transmitted to a receiving SOS server.

Typical usage scenarios would be where scientists currently use data loggers to record observations from in-situ sensors such as fluorometers and radiometers. The SOS-box software will collect the data being read by the sensor and then store it locally, and once in range of signal will send the data to the remote server SOS.

At present, support is already implemented for Wetlabs BB, BB3 and BB9 sensors, GNSS/GPS (NMEA) and UBlox7 GNSS protocols. Other sensor configurations are being added.

A strict requirement for the sensor interface is to not consume much power while still providing multiple interfaces for operators and remote operation. The SOS-box has been developed for the Raspberry Pi zero platform, which can run autonomously on battery power for long periods of time, and provides serial and Ethernet (through adaptor cables) and a WiFi interface. The typical cost of a Raspberry Pi zero is around €11. Depending on further interfaces and enclosures that are needed, the typical cost of the complete solution will be in the range of €30.